France's Ambassador to Iran Philippe Thiebaud was summoned to the country's Foreign Ministry on 14 April over recent statements by his colleague in the US regarding the possible reintroduction of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, ISNA news agency reported. The ministry has called the statements "unacceptable", accusing the ambassador of an "open violation" of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The French ambassador to the US, Gerard Araud, reportedly tweeted that the sanctions regime against Iran, previously lifted by the JCPOA, could be re-imposed once the accord expires in 2025. He argued that since Russia is supplying Tehran with enriched uranium, the latter won't really need to have its own massive enrichment operation after the end of the agreement.
The JCPOA, also known as the Iran Nuclear deal, was struck in 2015 by Iran, the United States, Russia, France, China, the UK, Germany, and the EU. In line with its provisions, Tehran severely limited its enrichment capacities and opened its sites to invasive inspections by the IAEA in exchange for international sanctions against the country being lifted.
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The accord's existence was put into question after the US announced its withdrawal from the deal on 8 May 2018. Washington has re-introduced sanctions against several sectors of Iran's economy, including its oil and banking industries. The remaining signatories have slammed the US decision and vowed to make every effort to salvage the deal. Despite this, Tehran has recently been critical of the EU's attempts to ensure the agreement's fulfilment.
